o the colonies, and granting pardon to such as
should deserve mercy,' and desiring them to publish a declaration which
accompanied the same. In this, he informed the colonists of the power
with which his brother and he were entrusted 'of granting general or
particular pardons to all those who, though they had deviated from their
allegiance, were willing to return to their duty:' and of declaring 'any
colony, province, county or town, port, district or place, to be in the
peace of his Majesty.' Congress, impressed with the belief that the
proposals of the Commissioners, instead of disuniting the people, would
have a contrary effect, ordered them to be speedily published in the
several American newspapers. Had a _redress of grievances_ been at this
late hour offered, though the honour of the States was involved in
supporting their late Declaration of Independence, yet the love of
peace, and the bias of great numbers to their parent State, would, in
all probability, have made a powerful party for rescinding the Act of
Separation, and for re-uniting with Great Britain; but when it appeared
that the power of the Royal Commissioners was little more than to grant
pardons, Congress appealed to the good sense of the people for the
necessity of adhering to the Act of Independence."[4]

It was a diplomatic blunder and an unwise policy for the English
Commissioners to make known to the public the restricted authority of
their commission, instead of simply stating in general terms their
commission under the authority of the Act of Parliament "for restoring
peace to the colonies." On such grounds and for such an object the
Congress could have offered no justifiable excuse for refusing a
conference with the Royal Commissioners; and when, in the course of the
discussion, it should have been found that the Commissioners could not
agree with, and did not feel themselves authorized to accede to, all
the demands of the agents of Congress, the Royal Commissioners (both of
whom were known to be friends of the colonies, and opposed to the
high-handed measures of the Parliament) could have noted the points of
difference, and agreed to recommend the demands made upon them to the
most favourable consideration of the King's Government: at all events,
friendly intercourse and negotiations would have been opened which would
have been probably followed by a suspension of hostilities, if not
complete reconciliation. But this was what Congress, led by